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CU-Boulder student leaders pledge to keep fee increases low

Students aim to keep increase to mandatory student activity fee at 3 percent or below

By Sarah Kuta

Staff Writer

Posted:
01/17/2016 09:30:00 AM MST

Updated:
01/17/2016 09:38:20 AM MST

Dustin Spencer at The Connection inside the University Memorial Center in March. Student fees brought in $6 million for the center this year. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

University of Colorado student leaders hope to keep student fee increases to a minimum and are pledging to increase the mandatory student activity fee by 3 percent or less next year.

Students at CU pay between $275 to $1,073 each semester in mandatory fees, including a student activity fee that helps fund the student center, recreation center and a slate of other student-centric offices, groups and services.

That student activity fee — which this year is $404.37 per semester for most students — is set by CU Student Government each spring and approved by the Board of Regents after review by the campus administration.

Student leaders are aiming for a roughly $12.11 increase per semester next year.

As campus budget officials draft as-yet-unknown tuition numbers to present to the regents in February, student leaders are also in the midst of their budget process.

Starting next month, student leaders will hear budget proposals from many of the campus units funded with student fees. They have asked them to keep a lid on new spending, unless it's unavoidable.

"Looking at how the economy is doing and the state of higher education funding and all of that, the budget scenario we asked for is a flat scenario, so basically last year's budget, plus unduckables," said Wyatt Ryder, a senior who chairs the student government finance board.

The student activity fee, which this academic year will bring in $22.7 million, provides $6 million to the University Memorial Center, $4.6 million to the recreation center and $1 million for the Environmental Center.

It also will fund Student Legal Services, Off Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations, the Volunteer Resource Center, the Distinguished Speakers Board, CU's student-run radio station and other programs.

Balancing act

Ryder said student leaders face a tough balancing act each year. Student-fee funded campus units could use more money to expand their services or add new programs that directly benefit students.

On the other hand, college is expensive enough already, he said.

"We always say we want to keep the cost of student fees low but we wouldn't do it at the risk of cutting meaningful services that are important to students," he said. "There's a lot of competing interests."

CU's student leaders have long taken pride in their oversight of important campus budgets, including the student center and recreation center. But in recent years, some of that power has gone away.

Student leaders used to oversee Wardenburg Health Center, but relinquished that control ahead of the 2013-2014 fiscal year after campus administrators pointed out potential legal risks associated with student oversight of a medical facility.

Last year, CUSG also gave up the GLBTQ Resource Center, Women's Resource Center and Student Outreach and Retention Center for Equity, which the campus absorbed into its general fund. That shift led to a 2.3 percent decrease in the student activity fee.

'Not just tuition'

On top of the student activity fee, students pay an array of other fees approved each year by the regents, some of which are mandatory and some of which are specific to certain programs or classes they might be enrolled in.

CU's Student Affairs division oversees some of those fees, such as room and board, a student health fee, a mental health/counseling fee and a career services fee.

This year, the division is proposing a room and board increase of 3 percent or less, said Maia Andreasen, student affairs director of budget and operations.

Though tuition is often in the spotlight each spring, student fees greatly affect the cost of attendance by thousands of dollars.

"It's not just a tuition concern, it's a student fee concern as well," Andreasen said. "Everybody wants to keep the cost of attendance as low as possible."

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